Revenge Game
by Texas Variety Katie-Bug
Summary: A serial killer is plaguing the streets of Paris, taking his victims and burying them alive. When his next target is Marinette her only hope for survival is for Chat Noir and the rest of Paris's heroes to risk their own lives in a series of horror and danger filled challenges and get clues to her location before it's too late. 2nd annual countdown to Halloween! Happy Halloween!
1. Prologue One

Prologue One

It was years ago when Paris was deemed the safest city in Europe, thanks to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Unfortunately akuma attacks were becoming more and more deadly. Just months ago an akuma wreaked havoc on the city and killed several citizens, including one of her high school classmate's father. Poor Alix must be torn up about his death. Those weren't the only deaths occurring either.

The criminals that remained in the city were smart. Sometimes they were only caught thanks to becoming akumas, like the one that had killed Mr. Kubdel. He had been a known thief around the city who the police had been using to catch other, bigger criminals. The remaining criminals were too in control of themselves to become akuma, which was frightening in itself. There were psychopaths that couldn't feel emotions like other people, and wandered down the street looking for a target to kill. They ones that seemed normal, but weren't. The Ted Bundy's and Alexander Pichushkin's of France. Those were the ones suspect in the extreme cases that remained.

Paris was deemed the safest city in Paris because of the lack of petty crime, but akumas were becoming more and more violent, and the criminals that remained were deciding to up the ante on their own crimes, serial killings becoming as common as they were in the eighties, if not more so.

Sabrina sighed. Paris wasn't going to keep the moniker bestowed upon it for long at this rate. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the others that joined them occasionally when they were needed, were going to find themselves with harder and harder fights.

Oh well. That wasn't something she needed to concern herself with. It was tradition in the days before Halloween that she and Chloé would binge watch their favorite horror movies. Over the years this tradition dissolved into watching their favorite movies, no matter what genre, but they made sure one horror movie was always included in the mix. They started this tradition five years ago, when they were seventeen, and they didn't see themselves letting it die, even as they progressed into adulthood.

That did come with sacrifices, of course. She was at school all day, and found herself furiously attempting to complete her homework at night. It was exhausting studying to become a nurse, but Chloé stood by her wholeheartedly, becoming a better friend in recent years. Their movie night was starting later than usual, but it was all worth it. Her homework until Halloween was done and they could watch as many movies as they wished between their classes without any worries.

Perhaps she should have been more worried.

It was nighttime, and she was a young, defenseless woman, walking the streets alone, in the dark. She should stayed on guard a bit more. Her father even warned her about that. A new serial killer was wandering the streets, taking people and burying them alive. So far there were only two victims, a guy named Arthur Capel, the son of another prominent criminal who was recently locked up in jail, and Marie Delage, the daughter of the head of the Parisian Police Department. Both had been buried alive, placed into coffins and given hours to live while family and police rushed around Paris on these demented scavenger hunts in an attempt to save the victim. Both of them were found too late. Dead, with horrified looks on their faces, bloodied, broken fingernails matching the tops of the scraped lids of the coffins.

Sabrina was careful, though. Her father offered to drive her to Chloé's, but it was a short walk. She had been there thousands of times over the years. He just worried too much.

A cold breeze blew threw the air, seemingly coming out of nowhere. Sabrina let out a shiver, bundled her jacket around her a bit closer, and continued to walk. The sound of a falling trash can in an alley startled her, causing her to jump and look around, only to see a black cat running out of the alley. She let out a sigh of relief. It was just a cat. She shouldn't be so worried. She liked black cats anyway. She was always a fan of Chat Noir. She continued down the street, watching her step as she avoided cracks in the sidewalk and loose pebbles, narrowly avoiding a pile of dog poo before she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned around, seeing no one there.

"Hello?" She called out. There was no answer. "Just my imagination. Papa has just got me a little on edge. There's nothing to worry-"

A hand found its way over her mouth, pressing a cloth smelling of wine and rotting paper towels against her. She tried to scream out, get someone's attention, but she found the world around her becoming more and more hazy. Fighting back became impossible as she was pulled somewhere away. Voices were whispering quietly to each other, making it seem like someone was coming to her assailant's aide. She tried to make out her attacker, only seeing a pair of piercing blue eyes looking back at her in the darkness. After what seemed an eternity, she was finally asleep.

When she opened her eyes she half believed they were still closed. The space around her was darker than anything she'd ever imagined. She tried to sit up, only to bump her head against something hard covered in padding. She tried to move to the side, finding a barrier blocking her way. It was the same thing for the other side. What was this place? It was pitch black, with a soft interior, but everything smelled mildly of dirt and urine. After a moment of investigation she realized the urine smell came from herself. When did that happen? If she wasn't so afraid she would be embarrassed, but with the ordeal she just went through wetting herself was not a major concern.

She needed to find a way to get out of here. "Help!" she screamed, banging on the lid of her prison, "I'm in here! Someone let me out!" Her screams were absorbed by the earth outside. No one would hear her. "Please," came her pitiful cry, "someone help." Tears began to fill Sabrina's eyes.

Fear set in quickly.

Then panic.

Then hysteria.

Sabrina's breathing turned to hyperventilation as she clawed away at the stuffing in the coffin, quickly reaching the hard wood blocking her escape. She felt pain as she clawed away at the solid top, and flinched every time a splinter found its way under her fingernails, but the pain hardly mattered now. She needed to get out of here.

Why hadn't she just listened to her father and let him drive her? Why did she and Chloé watch horror movies like this? She didn't expect her life to suddenly become one. It was getting harder to breathe in here. She had to get out quickly. It was becoming harder and harder to will herself to scratch at the walls. Her movements were becoming weaker, which did nothing to calm her, but only increase her terror. Her chances of escape were growing more and more slim.

What did those people want with her? Why was she captured? Was this how Arthur and Marie felt when they were dying? No one deserved this. This way of death was hell itself.

She had no more tears to shed, but she still cried. Was she going to die? Was this how she left the world? She had wanted to do so much! The last of her resolve was gathering and she began to scratch at the coffin's lid again.

What were all those years of hard work and studying for? She scratched at the lid once more, feeling bits of dust fall onto her face and into her mouth. This was no time to stop.

What about all those people she was going to help save when she became a nurse? She pounded in desperation once more. Surely the lid was getting thinner. Surely she could break out with a hardy punch or kick.

What about all those wrongs she had committed in high school? She and Chloé both knew that they had a lot to make up for. How were they going to make things right? "Get me out!"

What about her Papa? What was he going to do without her? She was all he had.

She didn't even notice her vision fading. It was hard to when everything around her was devoid of light. Her desperate movements were becoming lighter and lighter until they finally stopped completely. Her breath remained shallow. There was no way for her to escape on her own. The only hope remaining was that she was found in time.

The sound of shovels hitting the dirt echoed throughout the clearing. Police tape was cutting off the scene as onlookers gathered around. This was a fairly nice park, though the area was tucked away in a corner. What were police doing digging a hole? One police man was desperately digging at the dirt, getting twice the amount in half the time of the other officers. Sweat was on his brow, but he didn't care. He didn't stop to wipe it away or take a drink.

To the side, behind the tape, a young blonde woman clutched her hands together in prayer. Please let her best friend be safe. Please let the police have found her in time. Please. It was only just a few hours ago they were texting one another, excited for the day that was coming.

Why had she suggested watching a stupid horror movie? Sabrina was too busy with school to have had time for something like that. Why was her sweet friend lying down there and not her? Some stupid tradition or her best friend's life? The answer was laughably obvious.

"Sabrina!" She called, only to press her head into the shoulder of her father, who watched along with the other bystanders, supporting his daughter.

Roger was the one that hit the coffin first. With the amount of police digging it didn't take long. Only a few minutes. Only a few more seconds to get enough dirt removed to open the lid. He prayed he wasn't too late. Please, please don't let him be too late. He needed to save his daughter. He needed to save the light of his life.

Inside the coffin was his daughter, terror frozen on her face, like the others, with bloodied nails matching the top of a coffin with the stuffing ripped off, and shallow scratches on the surface. She was dead. Rogers cries of agony could be heard by everyone around, hitting each one of them like a bullet. Chloé's cries became harder as she sobbed into her father's jacket.

Off to the side, in the shadows, stood Ladybug and Chat Noir, looking down at the pitiful scene with their own grief strewn on their faces, their fingers laced together in an attempt to comfort one another as they realized they were unable to save another citizen of Paris- they were unable to save a friend.

In the crowd a passerby stood, looking at the grieving father, resisting the urge to smile. He had been successful in his endeavors. He had done it. Sabrina had died, and her father and the police were unable to save her. There was just two more targets left on his list of people to be killed. He closed his blue eyes and turned away from the scene, playing the part of the sickened bystander. This was _too_ good. He was getting away with murder, and the police had no idea that he were right under their noses.

He walked away as the crowd did, hands in his pocket as he walked away, getting to his house and letting out a sigh of relief.

There was only two more people left. Two more victims and this whole game would be done. Arthur Capel, Marie Delage, Sabrina Raincomprix, Maël Vieux, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng, also known as Ladybug. He were most excited for that last death. He couldn't wait to see how Paris would react when their beloved hero was seen as just a corpse- another victim, not that Ladybug and Chat Noir did much good when they were actually needed. Of course, he did his research. It seemed Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the others possessed something called a Miraculous, giving them their powers. They would have to make sure it was removed before the fun began. Oh, he couldn't wait. Even if, by some miracle, they managed to find Miss Savior-of-Paris then Chat Noir would be the one to end up dead. He couldn't stop himself from letting out a laugh.

Hawkmoth wasn't the only villain in Paris anymore. He spared a glance at the room his partner in crime lived in and smiled. No, there were two more joining the ranks, and unlike Hawkmoth, they would succeed.

* * *

 _It's that time of the year again... the time of the year where Katie gets her crap together and has a consistent update schedule! Yay! All joking aside though: Happy October and Halloween everyone! My Spooky Stories candle is back out! (I write with candles, and have a special Halloween one.) If y'all were here last holiday season then welcome back! I'm so excited to see you again! If this is your first time then welcome and I'll explain what my holiday countdowns are!_

 _For Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day I do a themed story. Halloween I write a horror story, Christmas a Christmas story and Valentine's Day a love story. I update these stories daily in a countdown to celebrate the holiday. There are the 13 Days of Halloween the 12 Days of Christmas and the 14 Days of Valentine's. Since it's spooky time it's horror time. Starting today (October 1st) I am posting the first part of this story, prologue number one. October 13th I will be prologue number two. There are two prologues to this story because I couldn't decide which was more important to the story so bonus prologue. You're welcome. On October 19th I'll start posting chapters daily until Halloween. Pretty weird but you'll get the idea!_

 _If you don't feel like waiting until the 13th for another chapter then go check out last year's Halloween story: Sepulchral. It was my first holiday countdown and started it all. If you thought there was a lot of thought put into that story my notebook I use for plotting this one is an absolute mess. You will not want to miss this! This year I took out all the stops to make it scary and suspenseful._

 _Did anyone actually read this long authors note? Sorry. If you did then let me know what you think and tell me your favorite kind of Halloween candy as well as your predictions for what is going to happen. I'm so excited y'all! See y'all the 13th! (I'll be 22 the next time I update this... weird.)_


	2. Prologue Two

Prologue Two

It couldn't have been any worse, they thought, after Sabrina died. After all she was their friend. She was one of their teammates best friends. They _knew_ her. It couldn't possibly be any worse than that. No victim could have been more tragic for them. They were wrong.

The morning of October twenty-eighth, in the hours when the sun was still yet to be seen save for a few vibrant and persistent rays of light, the police were running across Paris in a frantic search, trying to find any clue that could lead them to the sight of the latest victim.

Of course they could try to track down the killer, but that would mean forfeiting the life of the trapped individual, Maël Vieux, five year old son of one of the Parisian Police, who happened to work closely with Officer Raincomprix. Every death was tragic in this string of murders, but this one would be especially so. Who would do something like this to a child?

The sound of sirens driving by his house woke Adrien up in the early morning hours. Normally sleeping through a single siren would be no problem, but with his room's vast windows not blocking out sound completely, and the amount of emergency responders driving by it was no wonder he was stirred from his slumber. He opened his eyes and saw the red and blue flashing lights reflecting off of the glass and reaching into his room. He was wide awake after only a moment's hesitation.

"Plagg," he said, stirring his kwami from his own sleep, "come on. We've got to go."

Plagg opened his eyes and sighed. "Just because cats are nocturnal doesn't mean I am. I need my beauty sleep."

"It could be an emergency. There's too many police driving around to ignore."

"If it's important enough that you want to transform just wearing your boxers, then fine," the creature sighed, letting a serious expression come over his face. "You don't think it's that killer again, do you?"

Adrien shook his head, pulling on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, fearing the worse. "I hope not. Come on. Plagg, claws out!" Adrien let the magic take over him as Plagg found his way into his miraculous, transforming into Chat Noir and taking no time to leave his own house before heading to his beloved's.

He flew over the streets of Paris, taking care to stay in the shadows. It would be bothersome to have people follow him as he went over to his lady's house. It would be easy to have their identities discovered this way. He was sure a few of his high school classmates might have caught on after a few recent close calls when they were having a reunion, but no one said anything, so he and Marinette had gotten off lucky.

After landing on her balcony he opened the trap door and crawled in, seeing Marinette sprawled out on her bed, tossing and turning, her sheets gathered in a clump around her feet. The restlessness made him uncomfortable. She had put on the brave face for the two of them during the murders and investigations, but she was obviously being effected by this more than she cared to admit.

He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and roused her from her sleep. Her blue eyes opened slowly, drooping with tiredness. "Chat? What are you doing here? What time is it?" She turned over to look at her phone, seeing it was five thirty. "Why are you here so early?"

"There were police."

That's all he had to say. She shot up like a bullet and called out to Tikki before he had a chance to say anything else. Still in her pajamas, one of Adrien's shirts and a pair of leggings, she called, "Tikki, spots on," transforming into her alter ego and getting onto to the balcony, him following close behind.

"Where did you see them going, Chat?" She asked, looking around once they reached a high vantage point away from either of their houses.

"South. It was a lot of them."

"You're fearing the worse too, aren't you?"

"That that killer struck again? Yeah. I pray I'm wrong though."

Ladybug took his hand in hers and squeezed. "Me too. We'll do what we can to help this time. No more sitting on the sidelines. We're not just going to fight akuma anymore."

"Do you think they'll let us?" Chat asked, worry starting to fill his voice. "We've never been involved in a police case before. They could just want us to stay out of the way."

"If they don't want us involved in their case then we'll have our own." Ladybug tightened her grip on his hand and formed her other hand into a fist. "We're supposed to protect the people of Paris. We're failing them. Can we call ourselves heroes when there is someone out there targeting them?"

"Hey," Chat let go of Ladybug's hand and turned to face her, placing her cheeks between his hands, "we're going to save them. We're going to find out who did this to them. You know that." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "We're heroes," he said, "but we're also human. We're hardly more than kids. You still get mistaken for a high schooler all the time. We've only been adults for, what, four years? That's a lot to put on us. Us and our friends. We just have to do our best and save as many people as we can, okay?"

Ladybug nodded, the sadness in her eyes beginning to be replaced with determination. "Alright then. Let's go. We have a murderer to catch, even if we have to resort to vigilante justice to do so."

This caught Chat off guard. "You're not referring to murder, are you M'Lady?"

She rapidly shook her head. "Of course not! Just, you know, capture them outside the law and bring them in that way. Like Spider-Man!"

"Why do I feel like you'd dump me for Spider-Man if you could?"

Ladybug let out a laugh, though it was a bit forced. It was obvious they were trying to alleviate the tension that had come over them. "What can I say? Bug-themed, red-clad heroes that swing through the air saving big cities? I feel a kinship with him. Don't say you wouldn't do the same thing for Catwoman."

He pretended to be offended. "M'Lady, she is a villain!"

"Anti-hero."

"Whatever. I would not leave my Bugaboo for her just because we share a black cat themed connection!" He paused. "Besides, she's DC. I'm a Marvel guy."

Ladybug gave him a quick peck on the lips. "And that is why I love you." With their morale lifted, they were ready to go. "Come on, kitty. We have a killer to cat-ch."

"Did you just make a pun?"

She threw her yo-yo, prepared to swing off, "What can I say? You're rubbing off on me." She leapt off the building and headed south, attempting to locate the police cars that were the cause of this in the first place. "Let's go."

"As you wish." Chat extended his baton and chased after her, looking for the police cars, finding them after a few minutes and running to where the police were gathered.

The heroes dropped in, seeing the police looking around everywhere. "Come on," one of them called, "the killer said there was another puzzle over here."

"Puzzle?" Chat wondered out loud, sparing a glance at Ladybug, who shrugged and walked over to the officer in charge, standing to the side of the other police, seemingly supervising the others.

"What can we do to help?" Ladybug asked, taking control of the situation. Chat would never get tired of that, seeing the shift between Ladybug, confident and able to take charge, and Marinette, kind and sweet. He loved seeing when one persona leaked into the other, Marinette becoming confident and Ladybug showing Marinette's sugary sweet kindness. Both girls encapsulated each personality perfectly.

"Help?" The officer crossed his arms, a scowl forming on his face. The man looked like he had just been told that he was going to have to climb in the coffin himself from the anger that rested on his face. "We don't need your help Ladybug. This is all your fault in the first place!"

Ladybug took a step back, taken aback by the accusation. "M—my fault?"

The officer nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "The hero of Paris? Please. Sure, you and your partner scared off the petty criminals and basic thieves, but those people who are really dangerous, the ones that actually pose a threat to us, have become more active just to prove that they can. You're the biggest threat to Paris, Ladybug."

Chat Noir couldn't let this continue on. Sure, the officer was stressed, but berating his lady, the one who had saved that man and many other officers thousands of times from akumas over the years, was taking it a step to far. "Take that back," Chat said, moving over to stand next to Ladybug.

"What?"

"You heard me. Take it back. Ladybug is the best thing to ever happen to this city."

The officer's scowl somehow grew deeper. "Of course you would think that. You're whipped you stray cat. Anyone who isn't hypnotized can see you're part of the problem too." He glared, narrowing his eyes at the heroes. "This isn't another jacked-up super-powered freak we're dealing with. This isn't someone dancing around in neon colored tights with a vendetta against the mayor's daughter. This is a real life criminal. It's another human. Go back to capturing those freaks, where you belong."

"Hey-!"

"Come on, Chat. We're leaving."

"What? We can't just-" Ladybug looked at him with sparkling blue eyes, begging for him to do as she said. She looked almost desperate. "Alright." The two of them escaped into the darkness, not traveling far, still able to watch the police, but out of the officer's line of sight."

"We're still going to help the victim, aren't we?" Chat asked as they watched the police try to solve the puzzle.

"Of course. Real heroes help those in need, even if the help isn't wanted." She let out a sigh and turned her attention to the man sitting next to her, placing her own hand over his. "Thanks for standing up for me back there."

"Of course. You work harder and care more than anyone I know." He saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes. "Don't listen to him. He's stressed. None of the victims have lived."

"Do you think this one will be any different?"

He couldn't lie. He had no idea. All Chat could do was shrug. "All we can do is hope, huh?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Hope."

They watched the officers as the morning grew lighter, bringing cheerful sunlight and brisk fall weather, adamantly opposing the somber and frigid atmosphere that had begun to take over. The police had found the clue leading to the grave an hour after Ladybug had tried to step in to help. The digging was desperate as before, another officer acting like Sabrina's own father had, desperately trying to lift the dirt, assumingely to reach their own captured child.

The coffin was opened and the sight was different. Less gruesome but more heartbreaking. The little boy in the coffin looked like he could be sleeping, but coldness of his body, the blue tinged lips and fingertips, and the way his father screamed and clutched him told the story. The little boy was dead. He hadn't tried to escape, claw his way out like the others. The little boy just passed away, succumbing to his fate, no fight at all.

"They killed a kid," Ladybug said, looking down at the scene below.

"Yeah."

"How could they do that? He had a whole life to live."

"I know."

The two of them jumped into an alley and let their transformations drop before Marinette found comfort in Adrien's arms, and Adrien found comfort in Marinette's presence. "We could have saved him," she said. "We shouldn't have let that officer stopped us. If we were just a bit earlier…" she trailed off, unable to think with the guilt consuming her.

"Marinette," he placed a kiss on her head, "we're only human. We can't save everyone." He thought back to the akuma attack that happened not too long ago where serval civilians were found dead. "Come on," he said, leading her out of the alley, "let's go home."

"Do you mind if I walk alone?" She asked. "I think I want some time to myself."

Adrien nodded. "Of course. Text me when you get home. We'll meet up for lunch or something when we've both calmed down."

Adrien turned away and began to walk towards his own home, Marinette walking opposite. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, looking to see what the source was, but there was no one there. She sighed and continued. "Just jumpy from the kid." Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

She turned around again. No one was there. This went on for almost the entire walk home. She would walk a block or so and look, only to see no one there. When the bakery was in sight she let out a sigh of relief. Somewhere where she could let her guard down. She would be safe at home. No one would-

Something covered her mouth, gagging her. She didn't have time to react before her hands her grabbed from behind, dragging her into the alley. She tried to yell out but the gag made it impossible to hear her, and with it being so early in the morning no one was looking outside to see her get dragged off. She tried to get a look at her attacker, but failed, only to feel something hit the back of her head, hard.

The world around her started to fade to black, and the last thing she could process was the feeling of her earrings being removed.

* * *

 _So quick note: this was written before the Queen's Battle, so any inconsistencies in the canon I will attempt to retcon in future chapters. So I'm glad people are finding this spooky scary. That's the point of Halloween stories after all! Let me know y'all's thoughts. Question of the day: what would you're epitaph say? See y'all on the 19th!_


	3. Chapter One: A

Chapter One- A

When Adrien felt his phone go off in his pocket he was expecting it to be Marinette wanting to make dinner plans or meet up tomorrow. She had taken a while to respond, but sometimes, especially when she was lost in thought, she would become forgetful about such things. It was already ten in the evening. It was possible she was thinking all day. He was.

Marinette wasn't the one who texted him.

An unknown number was staring back at him, taunting him with the words, 'Hello Adrien, otherwise known as Chat Noir.' His heart was pounding in his chest.

Carefully he typed out the words, not wanting to endanger his identity further. 'I'm sorry but I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about,' he typed out, sending the message back to the stranger.

The rapid beating of his heart suddenly stopped with the next message. It was a picture. Marinette was knocked out, a wound on her head wrapped in a white bandage with a bloodstain where the blood from her would leaked out. She was laying in a coffin that sat in a hole, not yet buried, the lid propped open, obviously ready to be closed. The earrings she wore were missing from her ears. 'If you want to save Ladybug then do as I say. I have a little game for you to play. Come to this location. Bring whoever you think will help you. Hurry. If my other victims were any hint then she wont have much time. Five hours at most, I'd wager.' The unknown number shared a location and stopped responding.

How did that killer find out about his and Marinette's identities? They were so careful. Over the years the only ones who had discovered their identities were each other, and not without hardship, coincidence and paranoia. There was no time to think about that now. He had to find Marinette.

Was this something he could do alone? He remembered the dozens of police officers who tried to find the other victims, all of them coming up shorthanded, unable to save a single person. He was a superhero, but he was still human. He needed help, he didn't need a lucky charm to tell him that. "Come on Plagg," Adrien called to the kwami, who was reading over his shoulder, looking as grim as Adrien felt, "we have to save Marinette."

"Where are we going? You're not going to go where that killer is, are you?" Plagg clung onto Adrien's shirtsleeve. "It could be a trap."

"Don't worry," he sighed, "I'm not going to go alone. Claws out."

Chat Noir ran across the rooftops until he found his way to house he knew to be Master Fu's. "Sir," he called, entering in without any introduction, quickly dropping his transformation, "I need your help. Marinette has been captured. I have to save her, but I can't do it alone."

Master Fu needed to only glimpse at the desperate look on Adrien's face before making his way to the ancient box where the miraculous were kept. "You know the rules," he said, "bring the miraculous back to me when you are finished with them. Take what you need to help you."

He looked over the variety of choices and glimpsed at the bracelet on Master Fu's wrist. "I know exactly who I need." He grabbed the fox necklace, holding the miraculous carefully in one hand while he reached for the bee comb. "This job is too big for two people," he said as Fu gave him a questioning look. "I need the turtle as well. Do you mind if Wayzz comes with me as well?"

"Do you think it is safe to take all these miraculous with you, Adrien?"

He nodded, solemnly. "I don't think I have any other choice. It's the only way to rescue M'Lady."

Master Fu sighed before reluctantly taking off his own Miraculous, placing it carefully in the ancient box it resided in. "Bring her back to us, Adrien. Do what you must."

Adrien nodded. "Yes sir. I will."

He took the three miraculous's and left the old man's home and transformed back into his superhero alter-ego, rushing to the nearest home, ignoring the chilly fall air that had begun to bite at him. The adrenaline coursing through his body was keeping him warm. "Alya," he cried, entering her bedroom where she woke up, startled, but then quickly elated to see Chat Noir at her window.

She quickly opened up and let him in, a smile beginning to light up her face. "Chat Noir! What are you doing here?" She asked in an excited whisper, not wanting to alert her family to the fact that Chat Noir was in her bedroom. "Is there another akuma attack? Does Rena Rouge need to come on scene again?"

"Not exactly." He held out the miraculous box containing the fox necklace. "The serial killer around Paris has a new target."

The excitement disappeared from Alya's face and grew more serious. "Are you and Ladybug going to try to help the police? Do you need help finding the killer?"

Chat Noir shook his head. "No. I'm not asking the police for help. I need people I can trust. I need heroes. Ladybug was the one who was captured this time, Alya." Desperation began to fill his voice. "I need to get her back. I need help."

Alya took the box in her hand and placed on the necklace. "I'll help. What do you need me to do?"

He passed the box containing the turtle miraculous to her. "Take this to Nino Lahiffe. He is the hero Carapace, then come to the address I'll send you. Be quick. We don't have much time."

Alya nodded, not bothering to tell Chat that she knew that her boyfriend was the man behind Carapace. "Trixx, let's pounce." The transformation completed and Alya took the box from Chat Noir. "Don't worry. We'll get her back." She knew how hard this must be for him. A few years ago Ladybug and Chat Noir were announced to be a couple, and, even when saving Paris, the amount of trust they held for each other made their love incredibly obvious, even when they were attempting to be professional. It would be like her losing Nino, or Adrien losing Marinette. The two of them had gotten together a few years ago as well. It was impossible to imagine one without the other. "I'm off." Alya jumped out of the window and ran across the rooftops of Paris, heading over to Nino's.

Chat had one more stop to make. He ran the opposite direction, making his way to a certain hotel where a certain bee would be wanting her revenge. He jumped onto the balcony he knew to belong to Chloé and knocked on the door. Out popped a young woman dressed in a pair of yellow pajama pants with black vertical stripes, and long sleeved white t-shirt, hair pulled up in a teal blue towel and a toothbrush dangling out of her mouth. "Chat Noir?" She asked, with a lisp thanks to the toothbrush. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help."

"Why? Do you need Queen Bee to help with an akuma?" She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Or is it something else? Do you think it is my fault? I didn't do anything _this_ time."

"I know," he said.

Chloé's expression softened at this, noticing the dismayed look on Chat's face. "Is everything okay?"

"That serial killer that killed your friend," Chloé stiffened, "took Ladybug."

"What? How!"

"Well, the girl who Ladybug is at least." He held out the box with the bee miraculous. "I need your help. Paris can't lose her. _I_ can't lose her. This is too big for me alone. I have Rena Rouge, and she's going to get Carapace. It's not enough. I need _your_ help, Queen Bee." Chat noticed the heart-broken look on Chloé's face. "I know this is asking a lot. I know this person killed your best friend, but," he sighed, "I need help."

Chloé placed her hand over Chat's. "How could I stay no to that?" She gave him a sad smile. "Yeah, whoever they are took Sabrina from me, but I care about Ladybug too. I won't let them take anyone else." She took the miraculous from Chat Noir and opened the box, took down the towel and let the wet strands fall on her shoulders. She delicately, determinedly, placed the comb in her hair. "Pollen, bug on." A transformation took over her, turning the girl into the yellow clad superhero. "Ladybug has done a lot for me. I don't want to let that bastard get away with what he's done either."

Chat Noir placed his arms over Queen Bee's shoulders, pulling her into a hug. She found herself surprised, but hesitantly returned the hug. She didn't know that Chat Noir was her longtime friend, but the hug still felt familiar. She couldn't help but hug him back. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Hey," she pulled away and smiled, "no problem. I've got a personal vendetta anyway." She pulled out her top and looked at the black clad hero. "So, where are we going?"

Chat pulled out his baton. "Follow me." He vaulted over the buildings, Queen Bee close behind. They saw the address given to him, seeing Rena Rouge and Carapace already waiting for them.

Rena Rouge crossed her arms and glared at Queen Bee but said nothing. The situation was too serious to start a fight just because Chloé was joining the team. Carapace took a step towards Rena Rouge, not wanting to be involved in a fight. "What now?" Carapace asked.

At that moment Chat felt his phone got off, the one he used as Adrien. He pulled it out and looked at it. "It's from the killer." He read over the text message, and felt his breath stall in his throat. "Chat Noir, I see you. Good idea gathering your team. Those police are pretty incompetent." Chat looked around, seeing many dark and closed buildings, each seemingly with no one in them. Whoever it was must have been hiding in one of them, watching their movements. "If you want to save Ladybug you and your team will need to solve a series of puzzles. I've hidden clues all over Paris to her location. I'll send you the locations of all the clues if you and your team do one thing for me." Chat looked up at all the other teammates. "Take off your miraculous. Reveal yourselves to each other. It would be unfair to my other victims to have superheroes solving my puzzles. I'm not completely unreasonable though. You don't have cars so you can use your superpowers to move from place to place. Just reveal yourselves now." Chat looked up from the messages. "Guys, I can do this myself if you don't want to reveal yourselves. I know that's a lot to say of you."

Chloé laughed. "Please. Everyone knows who I am anyway. Pollen, bug off." The bee miraculous left the comb and stood next to Chloé. "Not a big deal, see. It's me. Chloé Bourgeois, not like it's a shock anyway." She crossed her arms, smirking a bit as Pollen did the same. "Aren't any of you going to do the same? It's about saving Ladybug."

Rena Rouge nodded. "Yeah. I don't care if any of you know. It's about saving Ladybug. If this is what it takes then I'll do it." She released her transformation, revealing her identity, looking at Carapace. Trixx took her spot next to her holder. "Sorry. I know this is probably a surprise to you but…"

Carapace took Alya's hand in his and dropped his transformation, letting Wayzz leave the bracelet. "I shouldn't be surprised." The three of them all turned their attention to Chat Noir. "So, who are you?"

Chat sighed, clutching his fists. He kept this secret for years. He felt like he was betraying Ladybug by revealing his identity, even to those who helped them. He shouldn't be hesitating, but he couldn't stop the anxiety clutching his chest. "Plagg," he sighed, "claws out." The transformation released. He couldn't help but feel everyone's eye's watching him intensely.

"Adrien? Bro?" Nino was the one who finally broke the silence. "You're Chat Noir?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's me." He turned to his kwami, "and this is Plagg, my kwami."

Chloé looked shocked. "No way."

"But," Alya let go of Nino's hand and took a step towards Adrien, "Chat Noir and Ladybug are dating. You're dating Marinette, though." She took a deep breath. "Is Marinette Ladybug?"

Adrien swallowed hard. "Yeah. She is."

"So that killer took Marinette?" Alya looked like she was near tears. "We have to save her!"

Adrien clenched his jaw. "We will, even if I have to kill myself to do it." He looked at each of his friend's gathered in front of him. "Thank you, everyone."

"Of course, bro. We love Marinette."

"And even if we don't," Chloé said, "we love Ladybug."

Adrien felt his phone go off. He opened it and saw the locations listed. "We have twelve places to go. Looks like we should each take three. Is that alright with everyone?" They nodded. "Alright. I'll send each of you some locations. We'll meet back here when we get all our map pieces. Go as fast as you can. We don't have much time. If the other victims are any hint then we need to hurry."

The heroes, out of costume, nodded. Ladybug's life was at stake. Marinette's life was at stake. They would do anything to save her.

* * *

 _Alright first official chapter up! Meaning the countdown to Halloween is officially beginning! I really hope y'all enjoy this because I really put a lot of effort into this! This particular story has been in some form of development since June so I hope it's worth it. Thank y'all for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate the feedback and really try to put it to use. The first challenge was today, but we're starting tame. It's only going to get scarier from here. Question of the Day: if you could be anything for Halloween what would you be?_


	4. Chapter Two: This

Chapter Two- This

Nino looked down at the listed addresses on his phone. He had three to go to, all in close proximity to one another. He rolled his shoulders back and looked at the other unmasked heroes, his eyes lingering on Alya and Adrien in turn.

It didn't surprise him in the least that Alya was the woman behind Rena Rouge. She had the attitude and knowledge to make a perfect superhero. She was obviously dedicated to Ladybug and Chat Noir, or, he guessed Marinette and Adrien, through her vlogs. It was no wonder that Marinette decided to trust her with a miraculous.

Adrien was a completely different story. His kind, somewhat introverted and timid friend, with a heart of gold, was the smooth talking, pun making, class-clown embodiment of Chat Noir? When looking back on it there were hints of Chat Noir's true personality peeking out from underneath the carefully crafted Adrien façade, but it was nothing drastic. It was the occasional stupid joke, or the love-struck puppy dog eyes that he gave to Marinette that really were the similarities. Still, it was hard to believe. Chat Noir was always so free, and Adrien, even years after graduating from high school and being a few years into university, was still like a prisoner in his own home, a slave to his father. Perhaps why Adrien made such a perfect Chat Noir.

Marinette as Ladybug was a shock too. Marinette was normal. Extraordinary in her own way, in the same way everyone is. She makes mistakes, pisses people off, over sleeps (though the sleeping in suddenly makes a whole lot more sense), and is clumsy. Ladybug is the pinnacle of perfection. How did Marinette carry herself in such a way? She was probably stressed out to no end. It was a good thing Adrien was there for her. He knew Marinette nearly his whole life. She needed someone to remind her to destress, and Adrien needed someone to teach him about love and freedom. In a way the were perfect for one another.

He would do anything to save his best friend's girl, hero of Paris or otherwise. Whatever this freak put their way he would face it head on. "Alright. I'm off." He turned to Alya who was just about to head off in the opposite direction and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Be safe out there, okay? Call me if _anything_ happens." She was his world, but he wasn't about to admit that.

"I'll be safe, okay? You call me too." Alya turned to Adrien and gave what Nino knew to be Alya's brave face. "We'll get her back. You can count on us." She exhaled and looked at the kwami floating beside her. "Trixx, let's pounce," she called, transforming. "See you all on the flip side."

Nino nodded, turning to Wayzz. "Let's go. Wayzz, shell on." He felt his transformation take over him and turned his attention to Adrien and Chloé. "Let me know if anything happens," he said, and took off.

Nino sprinted across rooftops as quickly as a turtle shouldn't, ignoring the people who were out in the late night, looking up at him, calling out "Carapce," as he passed by. He just needed to get to the first location.

The address led to a small house on the outskirts of the city, seemingly abandoned. He dropped his transformation and looked over the scenery. The lawn was overgrown with weeds which were slowly dying with the oncoming winter-like weather. The lawn was surrounded by an old brown wooden fence with heavily weathered spaced dark, splintering panels making it up. Some of the panels began to fall, crookedly hanging. In the yard stood a solitary tree, long dead by the looks up it, with a wooden plank held up by a pair of ropes making a swing that Nino half expected a ghost child to start swinging on. A small gust of wind caused the swing to sway as Nino thought this, causing him to jump slightly. He turned away from the swing and made his way down the old path made in the lawn, though it was little more than a dirt path carved into the landscaping.

The house was as creepy as the lawn. It was small, dark and wooden, with half the windows broken, with shards of glass jutting out like knives, and the other half boarded up with large pieces of weathered plywood. The door was black with peeling paint and an old style knocker with a gargoyle on it.

"Why is there a ghost house in Paris?" Nino asked under his breath. Steeling his nerves he took the knocker in his hand and banged on the door. No response. He took the doorknob in his hand and turned, only to have the knob come off, though the door still opened. Nino abandoned the knob on the ground and entered the home. "Come on, Wayzz," he said, stepping inside.

Dusty floral wallpaper covered the walls, and cobwebs covered the dilapidated furniture that littered the room. The walls had holes punched through them, looking like second doorways to the other rooms in the house. The only thing that looked remotely valuable in the home was a fireplace, obviously once treasured, made of stone, with a black and white picture of a young, pale skinned, dark haired girl in a gray and black dress, lace collar, and a bow tied up in her hair. Her pale eyes, probably blue in real life, appeared white in the picture and lips were dark colored, almost black. The eyes followed Nino wherever he went. He let out an involuntary shiver and hesitated to turn his back on the girl, fearing she would attack him at any moment.

"What is it we have to do here, Wayzz?" Nino asked, looking around the room for some sort of clue.

"Perhaps this is what we need?" Wayzz found a piece of card stock resting on the dust covered coffee table.

Nino took the card stock in his hand and looked it over. "In this house a piece of a map leading to the coffin's location is hiding. Good luck finding it."

Nino looked around. This was going to be a challenge, but he wanted to get this out of the way, quick. He wanted to get to Marinette as fast as possible, but he also wanted to escape thengaze of that little girl. "Come on, Wayzz. Let's get to work."

The two of them tore the house apart, searching under every piece of furniture, prying up every loose floorboard, sifting through the ashes of the burned out fireplace, checking the toilet, which was filled with a putrid odor and filled with a brown substance with the consistency of curdled milk inside. Nino found himself gagging. He closed the lid and turned on the sink, hoping for water so he could wash his hands after being in proximity of the rancid feces, only to have the sink spill out yellow-brown metallic smelling water. He pulled away quickly and shut off the sink, giving up the escapade.

The two of them found themselves in the bedroom next, and they tore the place apart. Wayzz looked over the bookshelf, dissolving in and out of the various titles, looking for anything out of place. Nino looked at the bed, pulling the stained comforter and moth eaten sheets off, hoping for some kind of clue. Nothing. He turned his attention under the bed, using his phone as a source of light, allowing himself to finally smile upon seeing a glint of white.

Nino put his phone away and reached his arm under the bed, finding the white thing he saw, curious when it wasn't what he expected paper to feel like. He pulled out the item only to scream once he realized what it was the he was holding. In his hands was not a note. It was the corpse of a dead white cat. On the side of its fur, written in sticky red liquid that he imagined could only be blood, was "Save her."

Nino felt like he was going to throw up. Why a cat? Was this an attempt to get at Chat Noir? And why hide the cat. There was no way that there was any guarantee that someone would have found the poor deceased animal. Nino felt his heart pound in his chest rapidly. He needed to calm down. Freaking out wasn't going to save Marinette. Why did he have to be stuck at the haunted house? What was up with this place?

"Nino," Wayzz said, coming over, sensing his holder's distress, "let's breathe." Wayzz led Nino though breathing exercises until the young man regained control of his mind.

"Thanks, little bro." Nino took another deep breath. "I needed that." He looked around the room. "Remind me never to watch a horror movie for the rest of my life, alright? I've had enough nightmare fuel for one lifetime."

"As you say, Nino." Wayzz resumed his search of the books and Nino wandered out of the bedroom and started to head towards the kitchen. He opened the fridge, finding nothing but long expired food in a fridge that seemingly stopped working years ago. He opened every cabinet, finding no pots, pans or seasonings, but a plethora a knives.

"Calm down," he said to himself. "It's all in your head. They're just messing with you." He walked over to the sink, haphazardly investigating, not expecting to find anything, only to see an arrow, written in that same blood from earlier, pointing to the sink's drain. It was one of the sinks that contained a garbage disposal. "No. No way. This- this is insane."

"What is it, Nino?" Wayzz came rushing into the kitchen when he heard Nino's distress once again. "Did you find something?"

Nino nodded. "I think the note is in there."

Wayzz nodded and disappeared inside the pipe, coming out a moment later, nodding in confirmation. "This is it! I tried getting it myself, Nino, but I wasn't able to. I'm sorry about that. It's deep in there, but you should be able to pull it out of you're careful."

"Are there spinning knives in there?"

"The knives are not on, so you should be fine. Still, be careful. There wouldn't be any way for me to heal you if something happened."

"Because that is exactly what I need to hear." Nino pushed up his sleeve and prepared to dive his hand into the system. He said he would do anything to get Ladybug back, to get Marinette. It was time for him to prove it. He glanced at the old photo hanging above the fireplace. "No funny business, you hear?" He rolled his shoulders back and prepared to enter the dark abyss that was the garbage disposal. "One, two," he hesitated only for a moment before plunging his hand down, feeling the piece of paper in his hands, as well as the brush of the blades. He pulled out quickly, holding the piece of paper. "Got it." He then looked at the switch that powered the disposal. "This thing didn't actually work, did it?" Nino flipped the switch, hearing the telltale sound of the disposal turning on. He felt the blood rush from his face, feeling glad that he was safe.

"Come on, Wayzz. Let's get out of here." He didn't want to be stuck inside a moment longer. He left the old house and opened the folded piece of paper. True to the killer's word it was anpiece of a map. A crudely drawn one, but a map nonetheless, and written in pen were the words "a, this."

"A, this? What does that mean?"

Wayzz shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe we'll know later?"

Nino nodded. "Yeah, probably." He put the paper in his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Only two places to go. Wayzz, shell on." The transformation took over and he prepared his next plan of attack.

* * *

 _My laptop overheated almost writing this chapter... that and I wrote it after doing nine straight hours of French homework. So that was fun. So next chapter we'll be having someone else take on another one of these killer's challenges. Any thoughts for what that could be? Please let me know y'all's thoughts. They really help as I incorporate what people say into future chapters. It really helps me create the best story for you guys. So, question of the: what is the scariest encounter you had? I'm curious. See y'all tomorrow!_


	5. Chapter Three: Then

Chapter Three- Then

"Are you going to be okay by yourself, Adrien?" Chloé asked as she watched Carapace take off into the Parisian night. "You don't need me to stay?"

Adrien shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but," Adrien looked down at the locations listed on his phone, "if we don't split up we won't get to her in time to save her. That's the mistake the police kept making. I'm not going to make the same one. I need to be strong for now."

Chloé smiled and looked at her long time friend. "Trust me, you are strong. If you can be Chat Noir and handle that nightmare of a father you have then you can do anything." Chloé took a deep breath and looked at her kwami and transformed. "Pollen, bug on." The transformation covered Chloé, turning her into the Queen Bee persona she relished living in. "Let's make him pay for what he did to Marinette and the others, okay?" An imagine of Sabrina passed through her mind. "I'm not going to let someone else die." She placed a hand on her hip and smiled, though it was forced. "Don't give up, Adrien. We'll be back soon, okay?"

"Thank you."

Chloé didn't particularly want to save Marinette, but Marinette was the girl behind Ladybug. Her high school enemy was her high school idol. There were conflicting feelings, sure, but she knew that the girl was a good person and didn't deserve to die like her best friend did. "We got this."

Chloé rushed off into the night, letting the chill overtake her. She pulled out the list of addresses and looked each of them over. "Okay, so it looks like I'm going to the east side of the city. Carapace went west, Rena Rouge went north, and Chat Noir is taking the south side. Nice of this jerk to spread everything out all over the city." Chloé looked over the scenery as she continues going east, passing the Eiffel Tower on her left, stopping at the Seine river, where he location told her to go.

Chloé looked around to make sure no one saw her drop her transformation, not that it mattered since her identity as the bee-themed superhero was known throughout France, but it would be better to not cause a stir. "Alright Pollen," she said since the coast was clear, "bug-off." The transformation dropped and Chloé looked around, still standing in her pajamas from earlier. "Hopefully we can finish this fast." Chloé pulled her arms closer to her body in an attempt to conserve warmth. "Why is it so cold tonight?"

"I think there's a cold front coming in, My Queen."

Chloé fought off a shiver and took a step, recoiling in disgust when cold mud took consumed her barefoot. "I wish I changed clothes before coming here." She swallowed and continued to walk, not quite sure what she was searching for. "Keep and eye out for anything strange, okay?"

Pollen twirled jovially before separating herself from her mistress. "As you wish, My Queen!"

With the dark night consuming her vision it was hard to find anything. Of course there were the mud puddles and dog crap her feet stumbled upon, but nothing that screamed 'serial killer was here!'

"Do you think we're at the right place, Pollen?" It was possible they were completely wrong, and all this trudging through cold mud was absolutely worthless. She pulled out her phone and double checked the location, only to be disheartened to find that this was, in fact, where they were supposed to be. "Well this is wonderful. What do you think we're supposed to be looking for anyway?"

Pollen brought her little arm under her chin and pondered before sighing. "I'm sorry, My Queen. I have no idea."

Chloé brought her hands to her cheeks and looked up, dismay filling her. "This is like the worst game of hide-and-seek ever." Something white and fluttery caught her eye, hanging from the branches of one of the trees. "What's that?"

"Do you want me to get it?"

Chloé shook her head. "I don't want to risk getting Marinette killed because I was supposed to get something down from a tree. I can do it." Chloé rolled up her sleeves and walked towards the tree, placing her arms around the rough base.

She didn't realize how tall trees were. She hadn't been the kind to climb them growing up, though there was a part of her that had always wanted a tree house. It was one of the few things Daddy never got for her. Where would she have put a treehouse anyway? The hotel had lots of hidden rooms that served as nice hideouts as an alternative to the wooden structure most kids dreamed of having. Looking up at the tree though, she had no idea how she was going to manage climbing it.

She tried scooting up, placing her feet on the trunk, but without a branch to use for stability then there was no way she was going to make any progress. "Alright, what next?"

There was a branch that seemed to be hanging low enough for her to grab if she jumped high enough. "Alright, let's try this." Chloé braced herself for the jump, grazing the branch then falling, landing on her butt as graceful as one could while muttering profanities under their breath.

The second try was more successful. She got a better grip on the branch but fell back down, managing to stay on her feet this time. The third time she had the grip and managed to pull herself up. "Awesome." Now she just had to get that piece of paper. "This better be worth it."

Climbing to the end of the tree proved difficult. Walking was impossible so Chloé settled on hugging her arms and legs around the branch and scooting along as quickly as she could while not injuring herself. "Come on, come on." She inched closer and closer, releasing her left hand from the safety of the branch and grazing the end of the paper. "Dammit," she hissed. She went another inch further before feeling the branch begin to sway underneath her bodyweight. "Just a- bit more." She reached out further once again, elated when the paper was grasped in her hand, before ungracefully falling out of the tree.

"Ugh." She rubbed her arm where she landed, praying that it was just a bruise. "This better be worth it." She opened the letter, confirming that the killer was the one to leave the note. "In the Seine I have anchored down a piece of the map. Swim out to my bowie and get it."

Chloé looked out into the river, seeing the current move across, white waves topping the peaks of the larger waves. If she looked hard then, sure enough, in the middle of the river there was a red ball looking thing anchored in the middle of the currents. "I have to swim out there?"

"I'll go with you, or get it for you, if you wish."

Chloé shook her head. "I can do it." She gave the letter to Pollen and offered the kwami a smile. "You'll help me out by keeping this safe, okay?" Pollen nodded, taking her job in protecting the letter very seriously. "Call out if you see anyone, alright?"

Pollen gave a salute. "Yes ma'am! I'll sting them if they get too close."

Chloé smiled. "That's my girl." With that she made her way towards the bank of the Seine, stripping off her clothes. Skinny dipping in the river was not something she wanted to do, but neither was catching hypothermia. A dry pair of pajamas, even mud covered ones, were preferable to freezing to death.

Once naked she took a step into the water, involuntarily shivering as the cold water took over her senses. Every instinct screamed "get out" but she continued, swimming deeper out into the water. She felt the wind pick up as she swam, and scrunched up every time she felt something brush against her. Sometimes she could convince herself it was a plant, and other times a plastic water bottle, but there were other times where it was obvious a fish was pecking at her.

It was hard to keep sight of the ball in the distance, with the waves crushing her in the water and the darkness outside. The light of the moon provided some comfort, but not enough to ease her worries as she swam further and further out, her body becoming colder, more numb with each stroke, and her lungs building up fire within them with each shallow breath. She needed to hurry. She didn't want to drown.

Finally she made it to the ball, and she pulled up on it, only to find it stuck. She pulled harder to no avail. 'He can't expect me to swim to the bottom of this, can he?' The Seine was just under ten meters deep on average. It wasn't possible to do that, was it?

She had to do something. She took a breath and dived under, her hand remaining on the rope. She tried to open her eyes to get her bearings, but found it impossible to make out her surroundings. She shut her eyes again and let touch be her guide. Chloé flinched when she felt a series of slimy bodies around her. Her ears were building up pain with pressure and her breath was starting to run out. She had to finish this quick.

After a few more seconds of following the rope she found a bottle placed in what felt like a basket filled with bait. No on wonder aquatic creatures swarmed her. She felt the fish nip at her as she grabbed the bottle, one nipping at her breast causing her to lose some of her precious breath in shock and fear. Another one nipped her toe and latched on. She didn't have the energy to fight it, so she just swam to the surface, dragging the animal with her.

Her head broke the waves and she savored the cool air that filled up her lungs. Chloé held the bottle in her left hand and removed the fish with her right, only to discover, with disgust, that an European eel was latched on. She got the creature off and made the way back to the shore, fighting the waves once again, which was difficult at first, but now exaggerated by her exhausted state. She no longer flinched at the brushes of items and animals with her feet. She no longer cared. Let the animals do what they wanted. She just wanted to curl up and go to sleep, or find out what this dammed bottle said at the very least.

She pulled up on the shore, dragging herself, coughing up the filthy river water as she did so. Pollen rushed to Chloé's side, worried. Chloé held up the bottle triumphantly. "Take that, river." She continued to lay on the bank for a few more minutes, just trying to let her muscles receive some rest before finally acknowledging the bottle. She opened it up only to see a piece of a map with the word "then" written on it. "Then? What is that supposed to mean?"

Chloé walked back to the river's edge and rinsed the bank's mud off with the water before placing her clothes back on. "We still have two more of these to go, huh Pollen?" Chloé took a breath and looked at her phone. "Surely they can't be any worse than this, right?" She was sure she was lying to herself, but she needed to in order to maintain her sanity.

"Is Marinette really worth all this?"

"What do you think?" Pollen responded to the half-rhetorical question.

"I don't know, but Ladybug is. And I have to save her to get revenge for Sabrina. I'm not going to let that killer get away with this. If I have to die for it then so be it." Chloé then began to set off to the location closest to her.

* * *

 _So I had to look into the Seine's aquatic life for this chapter, and I love aquatic life. I look into it a lot in my free time. For that exact reason I have a fear of fish touching me, specifically my toes. I thought it would be cool to incorporate one of my own fears into this. The eels weren't even the scariest fish found in the Seine. It is totally the Sea Lamprey, but I don't know much about them and it is currently one in the morning so I don't feel like going into a ton of research. Let me know what y'all think! I love all these theories about what is going to happen. Question of the day: what fears do you have? I obviously have my fish eating my toes one, but I'm curious about y'all. I'll see y'all tomorrow!_


	6. Chapter Four: See

_So I don't use trigger warnings lightly. In all seriousness if you are prone to cutting then this probably is not the chapter for you. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to send me a pm. I'd rather y'all be safe._

* * *

Chapter Four- See

Alya didn't like to think of herself as a hero. Of course she loved taking on the persona of Rena Rouge and playing the part of the fox-themed hero, but she was also dedicated to her journalism life-style. Rena Rouge was a great escape from the life that she lived, but she didn't find herself needing an escape that often. Being a hero was hard work. Someone needed to report their deeds. That's why she would never let Paris forget the good things that Ladybug and Chat Noir had done for them. Being a heroine, to her, was just a fun activity, getting to hang out with her heroes.

Knowing that Adrien was Chat Noir was weird. It made sense when she thought about it. Chat Noir was all about freedom, and knowing how Adrien lived it was painfully obvious how much he needed this alternate life. Such a stifling home wasn't a good place for him. He was a good person. Giving back was something he would do.

Marinette as Ladybug was much more of a shock. A part of her was ecstatic that her biggest inspiration was the girl she called her best friend. Another part was hurt and betrayed. Alya understood why she hadn't been told about her friend's secret identity, she kept her own hero identity secret from Marinette as well, but Ladybug knew who she was. Ladybug knew that Alya was Rena Rouge. It hurt that Marinette wouldn't trust her with both sides of her identity.

Still, being hurt wasn't going to stop her from saving her best friend. She knew why she kept her secret, logically, and wasn't going to let emotions get in her way. She had to save the hero of Paris, but she also had to save her best friend. Marinette was in danger and she wasn't going to let her best friend down. Ladybug had saved Paris countless times. Marinette had saved Paris countless times. It was time that she returned the favor. She prepared to head out.

"Alright, I'm off," she heard her boyfriend say. She turned her attention to him, ready to wish him luck. He walked over to her and gave her a peck on the lips, which she could tell was just as much for his sake as it was for her's. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "Be safe out there, okay? Call me if _anything_ happens." He could see the love he felt for her in his eyes.

She nodded and returned the loving look, knowing that her own eyes were lit with fiery determination. She would be careful, but she wasn't going to let something small stop her. "I'll be safe, okay? You call me too." She would swoop in and save Nino if she had to. She was just as strong as he was. She turned her attention to Adrien, who had to be the most shaken up about this situation. Her best friend was missing, but his soulmate was missing as well. She'd be a wreck if Nino was the one in the coffin. She felt like the only thing holding her together was her own determination to save her best friend. "We'll get her back. You can count on us." She let out a breath and turned her attention to her kwami. "Trixx, let's pounce." She felt her transformation take over her and she relished in the feeling of power growing inside of her. She needed this power more than ever. "See you all on the flip side." With that, Rena Rouge bounded off.

"Okay, north it is." The address she was given wasn't too far away, leading her to wonder where she could possibly be going. Surely there wasn't some huge criminal hide-out right under their noses. Rena Rouge stayed on the roofline, staying out of sight of the people walking out around in the middle of the night. She wasn't sure what kind of people they would be anyway. Perhaps they were the kind that got turned into nighttime akumas.

"Is that really where I'm going?" She asked to herself when her destination was in sight. There was a series of old apartment buildings, the kind that people only rented if they had no other choice. They seemed like the kind of place where drug deals, trafficking and smuggling occurred. She shivered. What was she getting herself into? Rena Rouge turned herself into Alya and looked at the kwami that hid herself in her hair. "Be on alert. Anything could happen here."

"Will do!" Trixx's black tipped ears stood at alert, and tail twitched as she investigated the area herself.

"Okay, so apartment 1131. So building eleven and floor three. Simple enough." Alya walked around the premises, pulling the hood of her hoodie up over her head and tucking her hands into her pocket as she walked, wanting to be as unassuming as possible. She didn't trust this area.

The sound of yelling could be vaguely heard as she passed different apartments, as well as the sounds of cheering accompanied by loud pornographic sounds blaring from low quality speakers. A large dog was tethered to a stake outside of one of the apartment buildings and lunged at Alya when she got in the vicinity, barking loudly, snarling with drool coming from his mouth. From a glance she could tell that the poor creature was fairly malnourished with ribs starting to become prominent. A glass beer bottle was thrown out of an open window in the dogs direction, shattering on the ground. "Shut up!"

"I really don't like this place, Trixx."

Trixx shook her head. "Neither do I. It's dingy and dirty and everyone seems horrible."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah." The sound of a baby crying could be heard in the distance. "Poor kid. I hope they are able to get out of here. This isn't the kind of place to have a family." Alya stopped and investigated the number on the sides of one of the buildings, relived when she realized it was eleven. She climbed the stairs until she reached the top floor, finding 1131 on one of the doors, though the second 1 was a missing. "I guess we found the place."

Alya knocked on the door, finding that there was no answer. She placed her hand on the doorknob and hesitantly looked inside. "Hello?"

Inside was a studio apartment, the lights on. The room was completely bare save for a plastic table in the middle of the room with a metal folding chair, and a kitchen with the basics, a stove and a fridge. Alya walked towards the table and looked at the contents. There was a glass, a knife, a pair of scissors, a razor blade, a box cutter, broken glass, a needle and thread, a bandana, and an envelope. Alya looked at the envelope and took it in her hand, sitting down on the cold metal of the folding chair.

"Fill this cup with blood. Be as creative as you want to be. Place it in the fridge when you're done. No blood in the cup then Ladybug is dead."

Alya shivered. "Ew." She looked at the tools in front of her. "This is awful." Her mind wandered to Marinette, who was probably scared and alone in some underground hellhole. "This is for my friend."

Over the years Alya had donated blood several times to the blood bank but this was something completely different. Place her own blood in a cup? The was intimidating and had to be about four hundred milliliters or so, a lot to fill up on her own. "Trixx," Alya placed her phone face up on the table, "if I collapse or something call 1-1-2 for me, alright. Call Adrien too so someone can pick up my slack. Don't call Nino. He won't focus on saving Marinette if he knew I was hurt."

Trixx nodded solemnly, promising to do just that. Alya took the knife in her right hand and cut open the palm of her left, letting the blood start to trickle out. When it wasn't coming out fast enough she clenched her teeth, taking the bandana and created a make tourniquet at the top of her arm, placing the knife inside the knot, allowing her to tighten the pressure on her arm further. The blood trickled faster, but still not fast enough. "Come on." She glanced at the array of tools on the table and glanced back at the phone. "Be ready to call someone, okay Trixx." Alya then took the razor blade and slid it down her forearm, hoping to miss an artery. The blood trickled out faster, filling the cup over time. When she released the tourniquet the blood refused to stop.

She glanced at the sewing needle and thread on the table. Marinette had taught her a few basic sewing stitches. Surely she could stitch up her arm on her own if she had to, couldn't she? Clenching her teeth she grabbed the thread and threaded it though the needle, taking a few attempts since she wasn't practiced at the skill. Of course, there was no way she was going to perfectly sew her own arm. She doubted even Marinette could accomplish a feat like that. Marinette. This was for Marinette. This was to see her best friend.

Alya plunged the needle into her arm, wincing a letting out a small yelp of pain. She clenched her teeth and let her left hand drive itself into a fist, digging her nails into her palm, which would likely also need stitches from the first cut. She continued the process, weaving in and out with the thread, until she was satisfied. Of course she was going to take this to a real doctor later, but that could wait. She looked at her palm and sighed, knowing that she was about to repeat the process. She threaded the needle once again and plunged the needle into her hand, relieved this didn't hurt as much as her forearm. She threaded the needle through, clenching her teeth as she did so, relieved wench she finally tied the needle off. She then took the scissors and created a cut on the end of the bandana before ripping it in half, tying the pieces around her wounds. She then took the glass of blood and placed it in the fridge, surprised to see another envelope sitting in there. She took it and opened it up, seeing a piece of a map with the word "see" written on it.

"Awesome. Let's get out of here Trixx." Alya grabbed her phone off the table and left, transforming into Rena Rouge, wanting to get as far away as possible from the hellish apartment.

Once on the roof of a building an adequate distance away she pulled out her phone and texted the group, sending a picture of the map.

'Status report. How is everyone doing?'

Chloé replied first. 'Wet, freezing, never wanting to go near the Seine again.' Included with her text was a picture of her own map.

Nino replied soon after, much to her relief. 'Possibly possessed by a ghost of a little girl or the ghost of a dead cat. Also almost lost my hand. Mission was a success, though.' His map was included as well.

Adrien didn't respond. He was probably in the middle of something. At least it sounded like everyone was having as much fun as she was. What she found interesting were the different words scrawled on each of the map pieces. "A, this, then, see. What is that supposed to mean? Hopefully it'll make sense when we get all the pieces." She looked down at her own piece and nodded with determination. "We're going to save you, Marinette." She tucked her phone and the map away and bounded off towards her next location.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Marinette woke up, feeling an ache on the back of her head. "What happened?" She opened her eyes only to discover everything was completely dark. "Where am I?" She sat up, bumping her head on something solid. "Oh no." She felt around, realizing that she was trapped. It all suddenly came flooding back to her. Whoever attacked her on her way home was this serial killer. She was the next victim. "Tikki?" She placed her hands on her ears, horrified to discover that her earrings were gone. Her only hope was that Adrien would come to save her. "Don't freak out, Marinette," she told herself. "He's coming for me. I know he is." There was no lucky charm to get her out of this situation. She just had to make sure she was able to do what she could to make sure that she didn't die in here in the meantime.

* * *

 _Sorry about the trigger warning at the beginning, y'all. Just didn't want to risk anything. Your wellbeing is so much more important than any story that anyone could come up with. On a happier note,_ _we are about a third of the way through! Yay! So, fun fact, I've never seen Saw, but apparently this is the MLB equivalent according to my best friend. Is that true for those of you who watch horror movies? Fun fact, I hate horror movies. I cannot watch them. Ironically one of my favorite video games of all time, Until Dawn, is a horror game. What horror things do you guys like? Movies? Video games? Books? And what are they called? I'm curious! Also, any theories about the words popping up on the maps? Tell me what y'all think and I will see y'all tomorrow!_


	7. Chapter Five: Take

Chapter Five- Take

"Shell on." The transformation had taken over Nino's body and her prepared to head over to his next location, only to feel a vibration. Alya had sent out a text to everyone. On there was a picture of a map with the word 'see' written on it. Nino looked at his own piece of the map and compared the words that he had. 'A' and 'this.' What could those possibly be? Was it code for coordinates? Was it something that the killer added just to throw them all off the trail? Was there a hidden message? Did those words mean absolutely nothing? He had no idea.

With the picture on the map was a message written. 'Status report. How is everyone doing?'

Chloé replied first, including a picture of her map piece. 'Wet, freezing, never wanting to go near the Seine again.' What could have possibly happened to Chloé? He could find out later. Now wasn't the time.

He quickly typed out his own response, wanting to make light of the horror he had just gone through. 'Possibly possessed by a ghost of a little girl of the ghost of a dead cat. Also almost lost my hand. Mission was a success, though.' He took a quick picture of his own map and placed the paper back into his pocket to keep it safe before looking at the addresses that he was in charge of.

"So the next place isn't too far." He let out a sigh, not wanting to go through another round of possessions and gore. He launched himself onto the nearest roof and began to sprint across the buildings, keeping to the shows, using moonlight to guide his way.

While running he felt his phone ring. He planned on ignoring it but glanced at the name on the ID. Rena Rouge. Alya. Why was she calling him? He continued to run across the skyline but answered his phone. "Rena Rouge, is everything okay? Are you hurt? Do you need help?"

He could hear an exasperated sigh from the other end of the phone. He was a worrier, but being a worrier kept them safe on numerous occasions. With Alya's tendency to run head-first into dangerous situations it was clear that he needed to do something to keep her safe. His stomach dropped when he heard her voice. "Only a bit. I'll visit the hospital after we save Marinette."

He felt his pace slow down. "What do you mean? How hurt are you?"

"Nothing to worry about. I got the bleeding to stop so it'll be fine. I promise."

Nino let out a sigh, still thinking about her concerning words. "Just don't strain yourself, okay? Don't be afraid to ask for help, either. You're too stubborn sometimes."

"You're just as stubborn." Rena Rouge exhaled before beginning to speak once again. "Have you heard anything from Chat? He hasn't replied. He's probably okay but I know what I went through, and from what it sounds like you and Queen Bee had it rough. I don't want him to be dying somewhere. Losing one friend would be rough, but two would kill me, you know?"

Nino knew exactly what she meant. "If he doesn't respond by the time I finish up at this next location then I'll go over and investigate."

He could hear relief from her end of the line. "Thanks, babe. I appreciate it." She hesitated, but didn't hang up. "I love you, alright? Do what you can, but don't be stupid."

"That goes double for you." Nino realized he was closing in on his location and he prepared to go in. "I got to go. I just got to my next spot. Keep me posted on everything, alright? Love you."

"Love you too. Bye." The line on the phone went dead and Nino stashed it, hoping to hear from Adrien sooner rather than later.

Nino didn't need to worry about that now. He had his own fight to battle. Nino was looking at an old lot, completely empty save for an old shed that looked like it had seen better days. That had to be the place. The shed itself was gray with peeling paint, and the door itself was white, the wood warped from years of exposure to the elements with no care give to it. Nino walked up, seeing an envelope taped to the worn door.

"I have set up a timer in this building that will unlock a safe. The timer will reset if you leave the room. Stay inside for the allotted time and you will get your map piece."

What could be in here that was so dangerous? It couldn't get worse than the hell he had experienced before. He just needed to get this over with so he could save Marinette. That was all there was to it.

Nino opened the door and wanted to retreat as soon as he saw what was there. Spiders. Every inch of the place was covered with spiders. Some where big, some where obviously venomous, and some were killing the other siders around them in an act of horrific cannibalism. He let his transformation go and looked at Wayzz. "Why did it have to be spiders?"

Something very few people knew was that he was terrified of spiders, a few that only grew after his first experience as Carapace and having to fight Anansi. He had jumped when he was a kid every time one had come close, retreating as far away as he could, but after that battle nightmares of the eight legged creatures seeped into his subconscious as well. There were nightmares that spiders took over Paris and a giant tarantula ruled over the Eiffel Tower, hunched over King-Kong style, but there were more emotionally damaging ones as well, like the ones where he was having a great dream and going on a date with Alya only to have it turn horrible when she was bitten by one of these spiders and died in his arms.

There was no way he wanted to step foot in there. There was no way he _could_ step foot in there. Every one of his instincts told him to run away, escape from the nightmare presented to him in the living world. Find some other way.

Marinette flashed in his mind. His lifelong friend was depending on him. If it weren't for her then he and Alya might not even be together. When Alya's father was akumatized she, as Ladybug, was the one that locked them up together. Of course she didn't realize what she was doing at the time. She was just trying to get the two of them out of harm's way. Still, intentional or not, it set him and Alya on the path that they were now. There was no changing that.

Adrien also made a mental appearance. His best friend was so much happier with Marinette. He had lost so much in his own family. Having to lose more would destroy him. He could very well see Chat Noir cataclysm-ing his own heart. He had to do what he could, even if that meant facing spiders. Nino rolled up his sleeves and marched right in, Wayzz following closely behind. Wayzz was one of those select few who knew about Nino's fear of spiders. He was proud of his wielder.

Nino flinched with every step he took. He couldn't tell what was worse- the darkness surrounding them once he closed the door of the shed, the crunch of spiders beneath his feet with every step he took, the chill he felt when he heard the light tap of thousands of little feet, or the feeling of knowing that if even one of these venomous spiders saw him as a threat he could very well end up dead.

A chill crept of up spine as he felt the light taps of feet rising up his pant's leg. Fight, flight or freeze, Nino froze, letting the creature make its way further up his body, letting each of its eight legs tap on him, reaching his torso in what could have been hours or just a few minutes. He could feel the creature explore his skin, stepping on his neck, each little foot taking a hold of him. The feet slowly moved, making their way from his neck to his face, one foot resting on Nino's lips, another resting on his eyebrow, creeping its way across.

Nino wanted to brush it off. He wanted to scream. He wanted to leave this room. If he brushed the spider off there was a chance it could bite him, and that bite could be poisonous. If he screamed his own reactions would send the spiders into a frenzy. If he left then he would either forfeit this piece of the map and condemn Marinette to death, or he would have to endure this all over again. The best option was the stay perfectly still.

"Young master, the clock over there says you have almost completed the countdown," Wayzz said in an attempt to calm Nino down.

"How much longer?"

"Only five more minutes."

There were still five minutes left? How long had he been enduring this? What kind of sicko got pleasure from placing people in situations like this? After Marinette was saved he was going to devote whatever time he could into making sure this freak was caught. "How long have I been here?"

"Forty minutes. These last five minutes should be a breeze."

They should, but they seemed to drag on forever. The spider had abandoned his face and was making its way down his front again. He focused his mind on that one solitary spider. Thousands of spiders were bad. One was not. He could handle one spider. He handled Anansi, didn't he? This should be a cinch. He was with others when he fought Anansi, and he was his superhero alter-ego, but this wasn't different, was it?

Finally the clock went off. Nino would have whatever the safe was hiding. He just had to make his way over there. The crunch of spiders made Nino flinch once again, and the feeling of spiderwebs brushing his skin made him want to scream. He just needed to do this last thing. One thing left.

He got to the safe and opened it, only to see a black widow spider sitting inside, just behind the letter, guarding her own web. Nino took off his hat and placed it inside the safe and used that to pull out the map, not wanting to risk being bitten and killed.

Finally he could leave. He rushed out, not able to escape fast enough. He opened the map piece once he was outside -and several meters away from the shed- seeing another piece with the word 'take' written on it.

Take. Take what? Take Marinette back? They were planning on it. They would save her.

But what about Adrien? Was he okay? Nino pulled out his phone hoping to see a reply from the black cat themed hero. Nothing. There was still one place left Nino had to go, but he couldn't abandon Adrien. "Wayzz, shell on!" Nino transformed into Carapace and prepared to head to Adrien's location, deciding to stop to call Alya to make sure she hadn't heard anything from him.

There was no answer. What could they possibly be doing? What about Chloé. She certainly wasn't his first choice to call but she was better than nothing. There was no answer from her either. What was going on? Was there something wrong with his phone?

He had to make sure Adrien was okay. He started to head off only to receive a text message. There were no words, but there was a map piece. Adrien was alright. What could he have possibly been through that kept him from responding for so long? Was it anything like the hells he and the others had seemed to experience to was it something completely different. He knew Adrien was determined though. Nothing would stop him from getting Marinette back. He shouldn't have been worried.

Carapace darted away. There was still one place left to go. For some reason he couldn't shake that this would be the worst one yet.

* * *

 _Y'all probably thought this chapter was going to be Adrien, huh? Surprise. I have a really weird order for posting the perspectives, but he's coming soon. No worries. Besides, this is a daily update. When I say coming soon with this I mean it. Question for today. Would you rather be shut in a room like Nino with spiders, scorpions or snakes? None of those sound like fun to me. Let me know y'all's thoughts and I will see y'all tomorrow!_


	8. Chapter Six: Yourself

Chapter Six- Yourself

Adrien watched as Rena Rouge and Carapace disappeared into the night, thankful and hesitantly hopeful. They were going to help him save Marinette, something that he couldn't be more thankful for. Something nagged at the forefront of his mind. There were visions of Marinette, cold and lifeless, with bloody fingers like the rest of the victims, play white from lack of oxygen, the look on her face frozen in a mask of terror as she lived her final moments dying. What would he possibly do without her? She was his whole life. He had been in love with her from the day he met her, thinking she was the most amazing girl he had ever met. Ladybug was strong and fearless, while still being kind and gentle to those who needed it. Of course he hadn't seen these traits as obviously in Marinette, but he wasn't looking for them. The traits were so blatantly obvious once he knew that the girl who sat behind them when they were in school was the same as the one he fell in love with. She had pulled him out of his life of misery. He didn't know how he could be happy without her. Chat Noir gave him freedom, but without Marinette what good was freedom anyway?

"Are you going to be okay by yourself, Adrien?" Adrien heard someone from behind him ask. He turned his attention seeing Chloé standing in front of him with a rare sympathetic smile on her face. If anyone understood what he was going through, it was her. "You don't need me to stay?"

Adrien found himself shaking his head his head, though a part of him really did want her company. Being alone sounded terrifying at the moment. "I appreciate the offer, but," he pulled out his phone and looked at the list of locations that the killer had sent them. If they didn't split up then there was no way they were going to be able to save Marinette. They needed to work together by being apart. He was going to save her, no matter what it took. Stupid mistakes let the other victims die. Shoddy police work wasn't going to be the cause of Marinette's death. "If we don't split up we won't get to her in time to save her. That's the mistake the police kept making. I'm not going to make the same one. I need to be strong for now."

He felt Chloé place a hand on her shoulder, offering him her support. It was appreciated, as he was barely holding it together as is. He wanted nothing more than to scream out and demand Marinette back. He thought all life was precious, but seeing the way that this killer had treated people he considered the possibility of performing a cataclysm on a human.

"Trust me, you are strong. If you can be Chat Noir and handle that nightmare of a father you have then you can do anything." If only Chloé could hear the thoughts running through his head right now. She wouldn't call him strong then. She would think so little of him. Marinette would too. He had to be strong, like Chloé was saying, if for no other reason but to make Marinette proud.

He watched as Chloé's transformation took over her when she called, "Pollen, bug on," turning her into the bee themed super hero. She gave Adrien one of her mischievous smirks that made Adrien flinch back. This killer was going to regret his actions. There was no doubt about that. "Let's make him pay for what he did to Marinette and the others. I'm not going to let someone else die." She was undoubtedly thinking of Sabrina. "Don't give up, Adrien. We'll be back soon, okay?"

He was thankful for the words of his oldest friend. They ere possibly the only comfort he had right now. "Thank you."

Chloé's smirk turned into a look of determination. "We got this." With that Chloé bounded off to wherever she was headed.

"Do you think we have a chance, Plagg?" Adrien asked once Chloé was out of sight.

"If anyone can do can save her, it's you," Plagg said.

"That was surprisingly optimistic."

Plagg shrugged. "There's a time and a place for jokes. Ladybug is in danger and you'd be a mess without her. We'll get her back, no matter what it takes, okay Adrien?" Plagg gave his wielder a hug on the arm, offering what little support he could.

"Thanks, Plagg." Adrien gave the kwami a small pet on the head. "Claws out!" Sunny Adrien turned into the creature of the night, Chat Noir, and leapt away, headed south to where the location said.

As the cool wind rushed past Adrien his thoughts wandered to memories of him and Ladybug doing this exact same thing hundreds of times, bounding over the Parisian skyline, not a care in the world because if danger came over them they knew that the other had their back.

He should have called Marinette earlier, or spent what time he could with her. He understood she wanted to be alone at the time. He could hardly blame her. A horrific sight like a dead child was one of the worst things that a human could see. If they had been able to help like they wanted would that little boy still be alive? Would they have caught the killer before he could have done this to more people? Would Ladybug be by his side right now, jumping across rooftops with him without a care in the world?

Ever since they became adults he and Marinette had found themselves more and more dependent on the other. They were the only ones that understood what it was like. They were the only ones who knew the stress of having to leave a class because of an akuma, or pretend that Ladybug and Chat Noir were as stress free and happy as they were in high school. Truly the highlight of both of their days was getting to see one another.

Would college even matter if Marinette was gone? It wouldn't. At that point he ought to just perform a cataclysm on himself.

"Is this the location?" Adrien was confused as he landed, looking around quickly before dropping his transformation. There was nothing but a stone wall standing in the middle of seemingly nowhere. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Plagg came out and looked around, dissolving into the stones to investigate further, only to rapidly come out. "Adrien, there's a secret entrance! It's underground!"

"Where's the entrance?"

Plagg did a bit more investigating before stopping at a medium sized rock protruding from the wall. "Roll that away. It's blocking the entrance."

He did as the kwami told him to, rolling the stone away, finding a dark hold leading to the underground. He felt his heartbeat quicken in his chest. "Are these the catacombs?"

"What are those?"

"They're hundreds on miles of tunnels underneath Paris filled with bones."

Plagg nodded. "I think so, then. I saw lots of bones when I was in there."

Adrien sighed before taking a deep breath and plunging himself into the tunnels, drawing his way through the small hole and trying to keep calm in the claustrophobic space. Dirt fell on Adrien as he went through the -very obviously- illegal entrance to the historical site. What could possibly be in the catacombs that this killer wanted him to find?

Adrien exited the small tunnel and found himself in the dark, unable to see anything. He wished he was able to transform into Chat Noir so he could use his night vision, but doing so could forfeit Marinette's life. He just had to make do. He pulled out his phone and turned on his flashlight, only to realize he was face to face with a grotesque looking dismembered head, terrifyingly looking like it was still in the process of decaying. A fresh dead body among the ancient ones. He couldn't help but yell out as he was shocked by the sight, backing away, his back coming into contact with the tunnel walls, his fingers unintentionally landing in the eye socket of one of the long dead skulls. He took a moment to catch his breath and looked around, cringing when he saw an envelope being held in the teeth of the rotting head.

He tentatively walked up and grabbed the letter, passing his phone off to Plagg who held the light on the letter so he could read it.

"Cool present huh? To save your friend you need to find the body of this head. It's here in the catacombs somewhere. I hope you don't get lost."

Adrien shivered as he put the letter down. He had to find the body to this head? The poor person was being disrespected as a corpse and Adrien had no choice but to go along with it if he was going to save Marinette. He had to find the body, but he also had to take care to not get lost in the maze of tunnels. There were stories of people being found dead after they starved to death. He didn't want to be another one of those numbers, especially since it was often years after the person was missing that they were discovered. Perhaps the body he was looking for was one of those poor lost souls, doomed to wander the tunnels of the word famous crypt for eternity.

"Plagg, any ideas to make sure we get back here?"

Plagg smiled. "Leave it to me." Plagg went to the wall and etched a large "X" into one of the skulls. "Even if it's dark I'll be able to see this. I'll keep doing this along the path, so don't worry. We'll make it out. Let's just hurry and find that body."

He appreciated how helpful Plagg was being. "Once we save Marinette remind me to buy you a cheese platter. You've earned it."

Plagg did a little backflip in the air in excitement before rushing ahead. "Do you see anything up there?" Adrien hesitated. "Or smell anything?"

He could hear the kwami begin to inhale rapidly. "Nothing. Let's go right. It looks like left will lead to a dead end up ahead."

Adrien did as the black cat told him, walking along, stopping for Plagg to make an "X" in another skull every few yards or so. What started out as enthusiastically walking started to slow down. Forty minutes of walking further into the catacombs and there was still no sigh of anything. "Do you think we should turn back?"

Plagg shook his head. "I'm getting a wife of something up ahead."

Adrien took off running. He needed to hurry. He was already down here longer than he liked, and these skulls around him were all staring to look the same. He was becoming desensitized to what was around him, until he stepped into something sticky, smelling like rot. Adrien looked down only to see a half rotted body wearing woman's clothing leaking out onto the ground. The smell hit Adrien's nose and he wanted to vomit. He investigated and saw, resting on the woman's chest, right over where her heart once was, was another envelope, discolored from sitting on the rotting body. Adrien picked it up and opened it, seeing a piece of a map.

"This must lead to Marinette!" He investigated the map more, only to realize that he needed the other pieces. No street names were labeled, only a few landmarks, and the word "yourself" written on it. "That's strange."

He wasn't going to question it, though. He was going to get out of here. He looked back at the corpse and bowed his head in front of it quickly, praying for it. "I can't save you, but I'll make sure someone comes and finds you later. Right now I have to save someone important to me."

He and Plagg rushed out of the catacombs, having come deep in they had to make their way out, which took longer than either of them would have liked. When they finally reached the entrance they escaped and a whole slew of texts appeared on his phone. He didn't have service in the catacombs. In response he took a picture of his own map piece and sent it. "Come on, Plagg. Let's go. Claws out."

* * *

 _So what I really wanted to do with this story was explore some of Paris's landmarks, and I wish I could have gone further into describing the catacombs as they are fascinating, but, I'm really dumb, and didn't take the chance to pre-write chapters when I had the chance. The result is me sitting at my laptop every night after I get back from rehearsals (my community theatre is doing Elf: the Musical) and typing out my notes as fast as I can so I get get a decent amount of sleep before my 9 am tomorrow. Currently it's only 12:09 so it's not too terrible, but I wish I could have gone further. Maybe I'll update this story more in the future and add in more facts and detail. Thank you so much to those of you who are favoriting, following and reviewing. Those reviews especially give me a jump as I write, helping me know what y'all enjoy and what I could do with less up. Let me know what y'all think today too! Today's question: what is your favorite Parisian landmark?_


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